Beatty & The Beast

THIRTY-ONE: Where the Beauty and the Beast Play it Cool

Monday, May 27th

Becca didn't show up to school that day.

The Villeneuve tea said she was too humiliated to show her face now sporting a huge black eye and what was described as a "heinously" broken nose.

Apparently she wouldn't be back for the rest of the week, making Keefe think the senior Wolf Fangs were probably donating huge amounts of money to the school at the moment. They had to make sure Becca still graduated on time even with all the school she had missed in the last month.

Buzz was high and hectic in the halls and those of every class and clique were recounting the dramatics of the Andie vs. Becca blow-out. Depending on how they felt about each girl, the replay was either told with enthusiasm or with disgust, though disgust seemed to rule.

Though there were quite a few who wouldn't mind punching Becca Wolf Fang out themselves (but they'd never admit it out loud), Andie was generally still the monster of the scenario.

Even more wary of her now, her classmates watched her pass as if they feared she would lash out and beat the snot out of them.

Keefe and Andie – beyond getting irritated by their classmates' ridiculousness anymore – found it easy to be amused by it all. They walked down the halls casually, hand-in-hand and ignoring the snarls and the whispers.

And when Oscar and Lindy (now official "SigOs" – significant others – according to Oscar,) fell to their knees in the hallway, bowing and waving their arms in the air as if Andie was a goddess to be worshipped, it was even easier to laugh.

In the end, they survived without a scratch or tear between them and they counted that as a tiny triumph.

~*~

The instant they got to Whistlebeck's after school, Keefe was called by his frantic father. He could barely understand him in his scattered, breathless hysterics but he knew what it meant: Cillian had messed up the numbers again and he, Keefe, had to go into the shop.

Again.

He was getting really tired of this.

He was on his way out of the house as he told Andie the news, telling her he'd come over afterwards no matter how long it took or how late it was, when Andie followed him onto the porch.

He stopped and observed her expectant expression. His eyebrows knitted. "Are you coming to see me off? How romantic, but not really necessary, my prince."

"I'm going with you," she told him.

Now his knitted brows rose, "To the shop?"

"If that's where you're going."

He smiled at her. "But it's boring and small and smells weird there, you really don't want to go. I have no idea how long it'll take to fix Cillian's mess, we could be there for hours."

"Well, the last time I let you go off to the shop you ended up almost taking another girl to the prom," she smiled sweetly. "Apparently I can't leave you to your own devices, who knows what trouble you can get into."

He groaned.

"You don't want me to come?" she said.

"Silly woman! I want you to be with me, sure, it will definitely make the experience more enjoyable, but I just don't want you to be bored."

"I'll bring my homework along, how's that?"

"You really want to go?"

"No genius, I'm just following you for the thrill of it."